Director, Oncology Translational Medicine

Scorpion Therapeutics; Waltham (MA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 316,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Paid holidays

Vacation

Parental medical leave

Job summary

Scorpion Therapeutics seeks a senior translational biomarker leader to design, align, and execute biomarker and translational medicine strategies for predictive biomarker development in oncology.

You will validate biomarker approaches, guide dose selection, and support go/no-go decisions while coordinating with matrix teams and external partners to ensure biomarker data informs clinical development and regulatory strategies.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. or M.Sc. in pharmaceutical drug development with oncology biomarker background.
• Experience leading translational biomarker plans and regulated assay development.
• Strong cancer biology and clinical development experience across solid and hematologic tumors.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Clinical Biomarker Executive Director to design and execute biomarker strategies.
• Validate and implement biomarker strategies to support patient stratification and dose selection.
• Execute biomarker strategies for late-stage oncology programs within Biomarker Matrix teams.
• Represent Translational Medicine to integrate biomarker criteria into study designs.
• Define biomarker priorities and produce evidence packages from real-world data.
• Identify cutting-edge science to guide indication selection and patient enrichment.

Skills

Flow cytometry

Molecular diagnostics

IHC/IF

ctDNA

Multi-omics

Data sciences

Cross-functional leadership

Education

Ph.D. or M.Sc. in pharmaceutical drug development

Tools

NGS

FISH

PCR

IHC/IF

Job description

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Clinical Biomarker Executive Director to design, align, and execute clinical biomarker and translational medicine strategies focused on predictive biomarkers.
• Validate and implement biomarker strategies (target engagement, pharmacodynamic, proof-of-mechanism) to support patient stratification, dose selection, and clinical go/no-go decisions.
• Execute clinical biomarker strategies for late-stage oncology programs as part of tumor-specific Biomarker Matrix teams with internal/external and disease-area stakeholders.
• Represent Translational Medicine at Clinical Development Matrix Teams to establish biomarker-driven decision criteria and integrate them into clinical study designs.
• Define biomarker priorities and generate decision-enabling evidence packages using real-world datasets and partnerships.
• Identify cutting-edge science/technology to guide indication selection, patient enrichment, and combination strategies.
• Oversee and/or develop sample testing plans and deliver high-quality biomarker data for clinical development and regulatory strategies.
• Manage relationships with clinical/scientific operations, diagnostics, medical affairs, regulatory, portfolio management, and commercial functions.
• Study mechanisms of resistance to enable reverse translation, next-line strategies, patient enrichment, and life-cycle management.
• Contribute to scientific credibility via publications and presentations.

Basic Qualifications

• Ph.D. (7+ years) or M.Sc. (10+ years) in pharmaceutical drug development with a solid oncology clinical biomarkers background and late-phase translational research.
• Strong cancer biology and clinical development expertise across solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, including diagnostics.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and designing regulated biomarker assay plans.
• Experience conducting clinical trials and working on clinical study teams.
• Track record designing/executing translational biomarker plans; onboard innovative technologies.
• Ability to analyze high-dimensional preclinical/clinical data with Data Sciences.
• Hands-on biomarker platform experience: flow cytometry; molecular diagnostics (NGS, FISH, PCR); IHC/IF; liquid biopsy/ctDNA; multi-omics.
• Successful translation from preclinical work to human trials using genomic/transcriptomic/proteomic learnings.
• Urgency, prioritization, and timely execution in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• M.D./Ph.D. or relevant doctoral degree; high-dimensional dataset analysis; diagnostic development and regulatory experience.
• Digital pathology; AI/ML biomarker analyses; external partnerships; mentoring.
• Strong matrix leadership, influence, communication, problem-solving, project management, and presentation skills.

Benefits

• If based in Cambridge, MA; Waltham, MA; Rockville, MD; or San Francisco, CA: base salary $189,750–$316,250; annual bonus; share-based long-term incentive eligibility; health/insurance, retirement, paid holidays, vacation, and paid caregiver/parental medical leave.